This is a Saddleback Church podcast.

I want to welcome everyone joining us online at all of our extensions and campuses around the world.

The first time I came to Saddleback Church was 10 years ago this month.

It was the first time that I met Pastor Rick and Kay Warren,

and I performed a spoken word poem here.

And it was one year before, 11 years ago,

when I met Pastor Andy and Stacey Wood,

two of my dearest friends, two of the best people I know

at the church they were leading

at. They had also invited me to do a spoken word at their church one year before. And I share all that

with you to say that at that time of my life, I had just lost my dad to cancer. I was traveling

around the country without a home for four and a half years trying to talk about Jesus through spoken word poetry anywhere that would let me.

And I had a very hard heart towards the church.

I had been deeply wounded by the church.

And it was leaders like your leaders and communities like your communities who invited me in and told me who I was

and told me who God is and showed me what the beauty of the local church actually could be. And so I

am standing here today to tell you something that I know today that I've never been more sure of,

which is that God can heal and restore anyone's life.

And he wants to use the local and global church in order to do that.

People like me and you.

So I would just like to, if you would join me in thanking and honoring all of our leaders

and those who serve and volunteer at all of our locations around the world.

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